Novels online

Chapter 394: The Choice of the Times

"Bei Di'en's growth in strength is abnormal. Even with the resources obtained from the Moon, his speed is a bit outrageous." Ignoring his astonished secretary, Chen Bo continued to ponder the suspicious points he had just discovered.

Regarding the abnormal rate of Bai Mo's power growth, Chen Bo could at least find some clues and reasons to convince himself. For instance, perhaps he reaped immense benefits from the destruction of Maysuo, or he utilized national resources to establish certain systems for his own service. These explanations were at least traceable.

However, the situation with Bei Di'en was somewhat peculiar. According to information from his spies, he did indeed acquire a massive amount of wealth on the Moon, but it was unrealistic to convert all of those resources into strength in such a short period.

To rapidly grow stronger simply by plundering resources, without the need for time to consolidate or for a thorough understanding of the power itself—Chen Bo felt as if he had only read about such things in books...

Even as Chen Bo was lost in thought, Bei Di'en, with the Jingshi Shengmie Jinlian at its core, swiftly organized a resistance army in less than two hours, leveraging the upper and middle classes' resentment towards Bai Mo.

"I am Bei Di'en, the newly appointed provisional Supreme Leader of the Huaxia Federation. We shall replace that incompetent and cowardly Federation government, raising the banner of resistance against terrorism, and we will never compromise! The previous government has already transferred control of the superweapon into my hands. All those who are dissatisfied with that madman, you only need to raise your right hand to lend us your strength..."

"The right to property must be defended! Arbitrary confiscation of others' assets is a challenge to humanity's core values! This madman must be driven out of our nation!"

Bei Di'en's speech on Huaxia Federation Central Television instantly ignited public opinion once more. Originally, a large number of citizens were still bewildered about what to do, because even if they wanted to object, they first needed an object of protest. And Bai Mo, after making his public declaration, had simply departed...

In such a unique moment, even if Bei Di'en kicked away the existing political system and established a new set of rules himself, he still won the support of many.

The reason for all this was simple: if Bai Mo's equalization policy and forced system were implemented, the entire wealthy class would be uprooted, leaving absolutely no room for compromise. Therefore, the moment Bei Di'en appeared to lead the charge, declaring his powerful strength, he immediately became the backbone of these staunch opponents.

"Hurry! Everyone, raise your hands!"

"Those who don't raise their hands, leave the company immediately!"

"Notice from upper management: All employees of this unit must raise their hands in support of Supreme Leader Bei Di'en. Those who refuse will be considered to have voluntarily resigned."

...

With their lives and property under extreme threat, they burst forth with 120% of their strength. Through administrative orders, business tactics, motivational speeches, and other methods, they spurred more people to participate in the resistance.

"This is a trampling of fundamental human rights! If he truly succeeds, the light of civilization will be extinguished, and the world will fall into eternal darkness..."

"Fight for freedom!"

"Humans are born free; no entity can deprive them of that!"

"Let tyranny and despotism be banished from our nation!"

...

After the shift in Huaxia and Bei Di'en's declaration was issued, countless public figures capable of influencing opinion—from actors to singers, from "spiritual mentors" to "opinion leaders"—stood together as never before, regardless of their previous political stances.

The reason was simple: without exception, their total assets far exceeded one million Huaxia coins, making them all targets for liquidation.

In the face of core interests, past disagreements were temporarily set aside. After all, those so-called "drama" were, more often than not, controversies artificially manufactured to attract eyeballs.

As long as one could remain in the public eye and "catch fire," no matter the form, a torrent of wealth would immediately follow, quickly earning money that might not be obtainable in a lifetime of ordinary work. In such a situation, why work diligently? Wouldn't it be better to desperately create major headlines?

However, the media bombardment that had always been remarkably effective encountered its Waterloo this time.

All the grand pronouncements, all the passionate rhetoric, could not stand against tangible self-interest.

Even with overwhelming, multi-angle media bombardment and pressure from the upper echelons, the vast majority still chose silence.

More than a decade of changes had brought too much class antagonism to society; they yearned for some new change.

The silent majority expressed their dissatisfaction through their silence.

If leaders demanded they raise their hands, they resigned and left.

If the media advertised raising hands, they turned off their devices and ignored it.

...

Violence had already proven to be a dead-end path during the Red Radiance chaos, so those without power silently protested the extraordinary beings who had once stood high above them, always looking down, through non-violent non-cooperation.

"A farce." Bai Mo, observing the nation's every move, remarked, gazing across the ocean.

He never wished for the other side to pull out some trump card for a comeback, so while he appeared indifferent, in reality, he had never relaxed his efforts to gather intelligence.

For every trump card they held, he had a corresponding countermeasure, ensuring that he wouldn't suddenly be overthrown.

Returning to the standoff.

"Behind me, there are millions upon millions of people supporting me! No matter how strong you are, you cannot defeat the will of this nation!" As the supreme commander of the Jingshi Shengmie Jinlian, Bei Di'en declared with unusual confidence.

Although the response among ordinary people was sparse, most extraordinary beings ultimately sided against Bai Mo. Not only that, but many masters from the foreign anti-Bai Mo alliance had also hidden themselves in various parts of the Huaxia Federation beforehand, and at this moment, they all revealed themselves to support Bei Di'en.

However, considering the Jingshi Shengmie Jinlian's carrying capacity, they only selected one hundred thousand individuals to provide power, with all others serving as reserves, preparing for what could be a prolonged war of attrition.

They not only intended to repel Bai Mo and drive him out of the Huaxia Federation, but also, emboldened by a great victory, to utterly kill their opponent. This madman's impact on the existing world order was simply too immense.

The power from one hundred thousand high-tier extraordinary beings was now entirely concentrated in Bei Di'en's hands. At this moment, he felt capable of overturning an entire continent, let alone defeating a mere single person.

"Only thirty million people raised their hands. By what right do they represent the Huaxia Federation, a nation with over 1.5 billion people?" Bai Mo did not immediately make a move, instead conversing with the other party from tens of kilometers away, his words implying that he had been observing everything all along.

"We are the choice of the era! The era has bestowed power upon us!" Numerous excited mental fluctuations emanated from the Jingshi Shengmie Jinlian, and behind it, there seemed to be tens of thousands of background voices..